Week 2: Feedback Thoughts

This week, I read two articles that hit home. The first, 5 Tips for Taking Feedback Like a Champ, included so much useful information! I especially appreciated Tip #4: Find the positive intentions behind your deficiencies. The article explains that areas in which you might feel like you're lacking can be strengths in some instances. While this is not an excuse not to fix problem behaviors, such a mindset can help us to be easier on ourselves, making feedback a more positive experience.

The second article, 14 Signs Your Perfectionism Has Gotten Out of Control, was a bit too relatable for my comfort. While I did not identify with all fourteen items on the list, I could easily point to several of these tendencies in my own life. Nevertheless, when it comes to perfectionism, I think that self-reflection is invaluable. It's helpful to have moments of clarity in which you're given the opportunity to recognize potential issues, and then adjust accordingly.

Ultimately, I think that's what feedback is about. Like so many, I'm not always the best at receiving criticism, but I want to learn to see criticism as a growth opportunity, rather than a personal attack.

Here's a Growth Mindset Cat that I think sums up my thoughts nicely. 

Week 2: Topic Brainstorm

Underground Civilizations: When I was in early middle school, I discovered one of my favorite book series, Suzanne Collins' The Underland Chronicles. The first book in the series, shown above, tells the story of Gregor, an Overlander who falls into the Underland through a grate in the basement of his apartment. Essentially a modern retelling of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Underland Chronicles recounts the challenges that Gregor faces upon discovery of an entire civilization living below the foundations of New York. If I were to adopt this topic for Myth and Folklore, there are two possible directions I would take my writing. First, I was frustrated as a child that Gregor never returned to the Underland after the age of 12. I would love to imagine what Gregor would find if he ever chose to go back to the Underland. Alternatively, it could be exciting to create my own equivalent of the Underland or Wonderland, along with new characters and fresh adventures.

Games Brought to Life: Jumanji, and its companion Zathura, were two of the movies I found most entertaining as a child. Since coming to college, I have discovered the books from which they were adapted, and their author, Chris Van Allsburg. In both stories, children discover board games which take unexpected turns when their premises are brought to life in their living room. I think the idea of being fully consumed by a game (or a book or movie) is fascinating, and has exciting possibilities for a story. I think if I were to write about Jumanji or Zathura, I would aim to give the games origins. How were they created? From where did they gain the power to draw people into themselves, or to deposit their characters into reality?

Somebody Has To: Keeping with the theme of beloved literature from my childhood, my next topic inspiration is a Shel Silverstein poem entitled "Somebody Has To." According to the text of the poem, shown above, "somebody has to go polish the stars." This topic has so much potential, and immediately had me imagining retellings or deeper plots. If I choose to move forward with it, I hope to write stories about the boy who has to polish the stars, the man who has to wake up the sun, the woman who has to make the waves, etc. All of these offshoots can parallel creation or explanation stories from various cultures. Essentially, there is a multitude of source material for such a topic, and I am excited by the possibility of exploring and adapting such sources.

The Prodigal Wild Thing Returns: As with Chris Van Allsburg's works, I was in college before I rediscovered my love for Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. During my freshman year, the CAC Sooner Scandals theme was "What If?" Participating student groups were asked develop shows that twisted the plot of familiar stories. Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Tau Omega rewrote Where the Wild Things Are to ask "What would happen if Max returned to the Land of the Wild Things as an adult?" I loved it. While my Storybook would certainly take a different direction than their interpretation, I would love to give new lives to Max and the Wild Things, and carry their stories into adulthood. 

Week 2 Story: After the Hunt

The Fox was frustrated. 

After a week of hunting alongside the Lion, he had eaten only the scraps of their kills.

Worse could be said for the Wolf and the Jackal, who were content to submit to the Lion's idea of sharing, even if it meant they went hungry.

In his bitterness, the Fox began to plan. He wondered how to use the Lion's selfishness to his advantage. "How," he thought, "can I quarter a carcass so that we all get enough to eat? How can I satisfy the Lion's hunger, and feed my own revenge?"

As the Fox sat at his favorite watering hole, ruminating on his intentions, he was suddenly overtaken by a giant shadow. He looked up, directly into the eyes of his salvation.

______________________________________________________________________________


This was certain to be their hardest hunt yet, but the Fox had manipulated his peers masterfully - everyone knew their role.

The Jackal would back the poor beast into a corner, where the Wolf, waiting quietly, would snarl and incite fear. Meanwhile, the Fox would weave between the beast's clumsy legs, causing him to stumble. Finally, the Lion would perform his typical heroics, completing the kill.

His plan had gone off perfectly. When it was time to quarter the slain elephant, the Fox knew he had won. He allowed the Lion to complete the usual speech, assigning himself a quarter for his bravery, another for his strength, the third for his wisdom, and the fourth for his pride.

______________________________________________________________________________

That night, the Lion ate and ate while the Fox looked on. By his last bite of the first quarter, the Lion's roars had become weak groans. Halfway through the second quarter, the Lion's jaw ached with the strain. However, the Lion made it all the way through the third quarter before his stomach burst, ending the Lion's life with a loud belch.

The Fox, pleased with himself, split the remaining quarter into thirds, happily sharing with the Wolf and the Jackal. Yet, while they merrily ate their fill, a watching elephant became frustrated. 

Author's Note: "After the Hunt" serves as a sequel to Aesop's The Lion's Share. As I thought about the debauchery displayed by the Lion, I began to imagine what the Fox must think, and what he might do when he's hungry. 

Image Information: "A Sly Fox," and "A Watchful Elephant"

Reading Notes: Myth-Folklore Anthology

King of the Jungle

In my favorite portion of today's reading assignment, we were presented with four of Aesop's Fables featuring lines, all of which were adapted by Joseph Jacobs. Before reading my notes, I recommend previewing the stories here. 

The Lion's Share

After spending all day hunting in a group with three other animals, the lion and his peers finally slay a stag. Despite their teamwork, the lion claims the whole for himself, proving self-righteous and inconsiderate. 

Androcles and the Lion

Androcles, an escaped slave, pulls a thorn from the lions paw and they become fast friends. Their happiness is short lived, however, when they are captured, and the lion is starved, only o have Androcles thrown to him - to be eaten. Much to the surprise of their captors, the lion is gentle, and pleased to be reunited. 

The Lion and the Statue

While arguing to determine who is strongest and smartest, the man claims victory when he points out a statue of a lion being slain by Hercules. The living lion replies "Nothing is proven, for a man made the statue."

The Lion in Love

The lion approaches a mother and father, requesting their daughter's hand in marriage. The couple, afraid of allowing their daughter to marry a dangerous beast, suggests that he have his claws and teeth removed. When the lion did so without hesitation, the parents simply laughed and mocked him. 

The aspect of these stories that I found most fascinating was the lion's versatility. In one, he is presented as selfish and prideful. Yet, in another, he is compassionate and playful. When writing my own stories, I hope to be able to be present such conflicts as existing in one lion. Those imperfections, the ongoing struggle between competing character traits, are what ultimately humanizes the lion, making for a great story. 

Reading Options

In regards to most of my college textbooks, I often feel the like image below: overloaded.

While reviewing this course's UnTextbook for the first time was certainly overwhelming, I quickly became excited about the content I will be choosing to read! I love the wealth of information and combinations available to us, and compiled a short list of the units I might like to read over the course of the semester. Here are a few I'm most looking forward to: 

The Brothers Grimm - I am excited to explore the translations of more unfamiliar tales!

Adam and Eve - This semester, I am also in a course called Genesis: In the Beginning, in which we discussed how the first book of the Bible came to be. Obviously, these stories will play into our class topics. 

Noah - For the same reasons mentioned above, I am excited to dig into Noah's Ark! 

Beowulf - I remember reading Beowulf in high school, and am eager to see if my understanding and interpretations of the story have changed after four years. 

Hans Christian Andersen - I have always heard that Andersen's original The Little Mermaid is drastically different from Walt Disney's, and I look forward to discovering those differences for myself!